Virginia Fusion Center Bloods Street Gang Intelligence Report

The Bloods street gang has become one of the most violent and notorious criminal organizations, spreading its influence in the U.S. from coast to coast. A traditionally African American gang, Bloods membership today includes Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians. Blood members are involved in a variety of criminal activities including murder, assault, robbery, and narcotics distribution. Nationally, gang membership in the Bloods has been estimated between 15,000 and 20,000 members.1 Blood sets range from highly organized and structured groups similar to the Italian Mafia to loosely organized cliques with little discipline and loyalty. The Bloods have grown in popularity over the years thanks in part to the proliferation of music, movies, and television shows glorifying the “gangsta” lifestyle as well as social networking sites and the vast amount of information on the gang available on the Internet. Current intelligence gathered by the Virginia Fusion Center and other law enforcement agencies indicates the Bloods are a significant criminal threat to the Commonwealth and will continue to grow in numbers and operational scope.

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SYMBOLS AND IDENTIFICATION

The Bloods, like many street gangs, have created a unique form of identification including language, apparel, tattoos, graffiti, and hand signs. The gang has created an entire subculture with variations from coast to coast and set to set.

Colors:

Traditional Blood colors are red and black, but sets have been known to utilize green, brown, pink, beige, and orange as well. The colors a set chooses are determined by their influences, alliances, and preferences; however, a trend has also been noted where gangs are choosing to refrain from wearing their traditional red to deflect attention from law enforcement. Colors are worn as a sign of pride in their gang affiliation as well as an intimidation factor to non-gang members and rivals. Gang members will represent their set by “flagging,” or wearing bandanas. These bandanas or “flags” can be worn around the head, face, wrist, ankles, or in their back pocket. Having a flag is very significant to a gang member; typically flags are given at the time of initiation into the gang. It is considered disrespectful to let a flag fall on the ground and rival gang members will make a show of throwing their rival’s flag on the ground and stepping on it to show disrespect.

Beyond wearing flags to show their gang affiliation, Blood members often wear clothing, jewelry, and other accessories tied to their gang to represent their set. Any type of apparel in their traditional color of red can be exploited by gang members including clothing with cartoon characters and sports paraphernalia. Gang members may also wear handmade bead necklaces and modified rosaries in their gang colors.

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Tattoos:

Many gang members will have at least one gang related tattoo or branding. The photo to the left represents a “dog paw” and is typically made using the heated barrel of a handgun. The dog paws are very common on Bloods members and are often burned into the right shoulder or upper arm area. Gang members may refer to the dog paws as “triple Os” and the marks may be present in graffiti as well. Conventional Blood tattoos may include the word “blood,” the set name, fivepointed stars or crowns, the member’s street name, weapons, tear/blood drops, and pit bulls.19 The tattoo’s craftsmanship can range from crude jail or homemade designs to intricate professional work. Tattoos and brands, particularly the dog paws, may be given upon initiation into the gang, and they may also signify the rank of the member. When encountering suspected gang members, tattoos should be documented as they can reveal a member’s set affiliation, rank, involvement in criminal activity, and years of gang participation.

Gang Graffiti:

Graffiti has often been described as the “newspaper of the streets.” Careful analysis of gang graffiti can indicate the gang and set, the artist or tagger, their affiliation, rival gangs, and current gang activity. Gangs use graffiti to claim territory, and where there are several gangs present, graffiti may be marked out by rival gangs and replaced with their own. Gang members may also venture into their rival’s territory to deface property with graffiti as a sign of disrespect and a challenge to their rival. Typical gang graffiti is usually in a single color and will be simple in design. Complex and colorful graffiti is generally not gang related.

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GANG ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

Hierarchy within the gang structure may take several different forms depending on the gang’s affiliation to the West or East Coast. Sets have been known to adopt a paramilitary structure as well as a mafia inspired hierarchy. Below are two examples of hierarchy used.

Southside Brim:
1. Triple OG
2. OG
3. Baby OG
4. OYG
5. Young Gangster
6. OBG
7. Baby Gangster

Nine Trey Gangsters:
1. Godfather
2. Big 020
3. Low 020
4. 5 Star General
5. 4 Star General
6. 3 Star General
7. 2 Star General
8. 1 Star General

Gang sets may use additional organizational structures including ranks of ministers, captains, and lieutenants. The head of the set is typically known as an Original Gangster (OG) or Godfather. The set leader may be in contact with other set leaders but the lower level soldiers may have no knowledge of other sets, their activities, or their leadership.

Blood sets that share set names with the larger West Coast14 and East Coast Bloods may not be directly connected to the larger gangs but usually have knowledge of the gang’s history and rules. Many Blood gangs operate as independent sets although members may know or be related to Bloods in other areas. Additionally, sets may be connected through inmates in the prison system. Many small local gangs’ ties to the larger Bloods sets may be tenuous at best. These smaller sets may mimic the culture of the Bloods in terms of colors, clothing, and tattoos; however, their membership and scope of criminal activity is primarily local.

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New Blood Gang 2010

The images as chilling as they are heartbreaking: An infant with a semiautomatic handgun next to each tiny shoulder. A child no more than a year old decked out in blood-red gang gear.

"They call them Blood drops, stains, rims," a former Staten Island Bloods gang member said of the nicknames gang parents give their children.

Incredibly, parents "bless" and initiate their babies into violent gangs like the Crips and Bloods - teaching chubby little fingers to fold into gang signs even before the tots mouth their first words.

Drive-by shootouts, murder and drug deals have always been a sad part of gang life, but recruitment from one generation to the next has become more prominent in the city where gangs only started showing their might in the mid-1990s.

"We're seeing more children who are being exposed to the gang world because their parents are members," said Deanna Rodriguez, Brooklyn district attorney gang bureau chief.

"This is part of their identity," Rodriguez said. "As long as they can remember, they've been part of the Bloods, Crips or the Latin Kings. This is what life is and they don't understand the concept of what life is outside that."

NYPD statistics bear out the sad truth: There were 713 gang incidents in New York last year, up from 554 in 2006.

While city officials estimate there are about 17,000 known gang members here, experts say the actual number is double that - not even including small neighborhood gangs.

The nation's three biggest gang cities are Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, said Arlen Egley of the National Youth Gang Organization.

Some of the misguided parents think teaching little ones the gang life is cute. Others have learned the hard way.

"My first child - he was only 6 months old when he got blessed into it," said King Ironman, a Bronx member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation gang.

Then the boy was killed in a drive-by shootout.

"The target was me ... he was only 2 years old," Ironman said.

Although he says he hasn't been active for nearly 10 years and now tries to talk young people out of joining gangs, Ironman still "blessed" two more sons into the predominantly Puerto Rican gang. "Families have to do that to be part of the nation," he said.

One son was blessed at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Morningside Heights four years ago during a quasi-religious ceremony. "It's like a christening," he said. "The priest holds the baby and we say our prayer at the same time. We have to have the window open and the baby pointed toward the sun."

Once blessed, the child is given yellow beads - the gang's color.

"He's a true gangster. The way he acts with people, the way he just wants to beat you up and punch you," Iron said of the 4-year-old "Latin Prince" he hopes will preach peace within the gang.

One Espicopal priest who "blessed-in" about 300 children kids into the Association Neta and the Latin Kings said he did not see anything wrong with the ceremony.

"It's not a criminal organization," said the Rev. Luis Barrios, who is also a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Barrios was removed from St. Mary's after tussling with his superiors in the Episcopal church.

"It's a street organization with the capacity to bring together young people in search of power, collective identity ... [and] belonging in the society that's rejecting them," Barrios said.

To get into a gang, a recruit often has to get beat up and hurt others to prove their loyalty, but born-in babies gain automatic acceptance.

"The ones that are born in have a little more power and respect," a 21-year-old former Brooklyn Crips member said. "I've seen little kids that you could tell their father is affiliated."

Crips parents refer to their kids' birthdays as "C-Day," instead of "B-Day," so as not to glorify the rival Bloods, he said.

Kids who grow up with gang parents are likely to become bullies at a young age, said Andrew Grascia, president of the New York State Gang Investigators.

"No child is born evil. They're taught evil things," he said. "You're taking a young, very fragile child who's being taught crime by the people who are supposed to secure and


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